Senate Votes to Shift $241 Million From IRS Budget to War on Drugs

WASHINGTON — The Senate voted Monday to slash the proposed 1989 Internal Revenue Service budget by $241 million and use the money for the Customs Service’s anti-drug program.

The cut in the IRS budget, to the 1988 level of just under $5.1 billion, was part of a bill that included $15.9 billion for the Treasury Department and its agencies, the Postal Service and several other federal agencies. The vote was 81 to 4.

The bill calls also for a 4% pay increase in 1989 for all federal civilian employees except members of Congress and 4.1% for military personnel.

It includes $1.05 billion for the Customs Service, which is $79 million above what the Administration requested and $41 million over what the House passed.

“I am proud to say that this bill goes the extra mile, beyond the President’s budget, to maintain our important anti-drug effort at some of the most important drug enforcement agencies,” Sen. Dennis DeConcini (D-Ariz.) said.

As part of the Customs Service’s drive against illegal drugs, the bill recommends that the agency buy a surveillance airship capable of carrying a sensor that can detect ship movements in the Gulf of Mexico. The measure includes money for Customs to develop four long-range P-3 Orion planes to use in drug surveillance missions.